Yes, Riku is a legal phenomenon. :)

This chapter is dedicated to Lilly...and anyone else who has had to deal with that kindof crap.

ALSO: I am sorry I haven't updated in forever, fanfiction was being really really really mean to me. I just screamed at the computer out of utter excitement that it is finally letting me upload this! Thank you for being patient! I couldn't be happier~ ^-^

~KeedaxEmry

"If you could make anyone at this table your slave, who would you pick?"

I glanced around the table at my options. "Zexion," I decided.

"Why?" Zexion muttered, pouring over a book like always.

"Because you could do my homework for me," I grinned.

"Stop helping him cheat," Axel complained.

"How's that cheating?" Larxene stabbed slice of tomato with a little too much enthusiasm. "This game is pointless."

I turned to Axel. "I thought you said she'd be over it."

He shrugged. "I don't understand women."

"You put a spider on me!" Larxene shrieked.

"Whoa. I don't remember that," Demyx said.

"You were busy at the time," Zexion murmured.

"Oh, right," he beamed. "What's this game called again?"

"Truth. And it's my turn," I said.

"No, it's not," Axel protested. "You just asked a question."

"That was not a question."

"Yes it was."

"Who's cheating now?"

"You're the one who asked Zex—"

"Will you two shut up?" Larxene barked, glaring at us.

"Fine, ask," I gave in.

"What were you like as a kid?"

"I whined a lot and was really clingy."

"Oh, that's surprising," Larxene said sarcastically.

I ignored her. "You?"

"I was rebellious. The second someone told me not to do something, I was doing it. What food would you eat everyday if you could?"

"Cereal!" Demyx exclaimed.

Axel shot him an dirty look.

"What?" he whined. "Why can't I play too..."

"Because," Axel sighed, "we already know too much about you. Roxas, do you have your cell phone on you?"

I gave him a wary look. "Yes, why?"

"Let me see it."

I gave it to him, and he pressed a few buttons and gave it back. I looked through the menu, finding out that he had put his number in, under the first speed dial. "You replaced the speed dial that calls my dad's cell," I said.

"Yeah I know." He grinned. "Here."

He gave me his phone, and I put my number in as well.

"Now it will be easier to play," he glanced around the table as if daring anyone to say otherwise, "without interruption."

"Well, so-rrrrrrrrry," Larxene grumbled. She pushed her tray towards Xion, and the rest of us followed suit, like always.

Xion stood up, her hands clutched in front of her stomach. "Why...do I...h-h-have," she stuttered. Larxene gave her a fierce look, which would scare anyone I'm sure, and she gave a little frightened squeak, grabbing her own tray. She quickly began to stack the trays in her hands.

"Wait." Axel grabbed my tray before she could, and set it in front of me. Xion scurried away before he could say anything else.

"What?" I asked.

"You didn't eat all your pasta."

"The food here is disgusting."

"Eat it."

"No!" I pushed the tray away.

We started fighting, pushing the tray back and forth.

"I think you scared her, Larxene," I heard Demyx say.

Axel and I stopped fighting in time to see Xion pushing the cafeteria doors open and retreating to the hallway.

"Stupid baby," Larxene sneered. "New kids give me stomachaches."

"Uh," I blinked, "aren't I..."

"Yes," Zexion nodded.

Demyx put his arm around my shoulders. "Without us, you'd be eaten alive!"

I shrugged him off.

"Actually, without Axel, you'd be eaten alive," Zexion said coolly, his head still bowed over some book. "By us, and everyone else here."

Axel was staring at Zexion angrily, while Zexion turned the page, calm as ever. Demyx was hunched over, laughing hard, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Some people around us gave him weird looks, then hurridly turned back to their own tables as Larxene, smirking, spat something at them. "I'm confused," I finally said.

No one said anything.

Zexion gave Axel a "go ahead" gesture, but Axel kept quiet.

"Axel?" I asked uncertainly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Larxene giggled, a cruel, shrill sound.

"Shut up, Larxene," Axel growled.

"Ooh," she put her hand to her mouth, as if trying to hide her smile. "Did I say something I shouldn't of?" Her voice was high pitched and annoying; the kind of voice you use when talking to a baby or a dog.

"Ignore them," Axel muttered to me. "They're idiots."

"I'll tell him," Zexion looked up from his book.

"Don't, Zexion." Axel had a panicked look on his face, and it made me nervous; what did he not want to say? That he'd protect me? What's so wrong with that?

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Do you know how cruel people are here?" Demyx poked my head.

I turned towards him, but not before I saw the relief that had poured into Axel's features. "Uh, no."

"Exactly. You wouldn't know because they're afraid that if they mess with you, he'll kill 'um," he jerked his thumb towards Axel. "New students, like Xion, have a really hard time."

"Do you guys hate new students too?"

"N—"

"Yes!" Larxene jumped at the opportunity. "We hate each and every one of you."

Demyx shook his head. "No. If you're Axel's friend, you're our friend."

"So if I wasn't Axel's friend...?"

He smiled at me. "We would make your life a living hell."

"That's nice," I exhale loudly. "Axel?"

"Huh?"

"If what they're saying is true, you're very protective."

"Yeah, yeah," Axel said exasperated.

"Like a puppy or a mother," I smirked.

"I hate you guys," Axel muttered.

"Then we're doing something right," Larxene got up and left.

I grabbed my tray and went to throw it away while Axel pretended to be engrossed in a poster at the other side of the cafeteria.

I was walking back to the table when the bell rang. I turned to my left to head to class, catching a glimpse of red hair.

"Hey," Axel said, appearing next to me in the crowd of high schoolers.

I acknowledged him. "What's Larxene's favorite kind of cheesecake?"

"Any kind," he looked at me. "Why?"

"I'm going to make her one."

"You don't have to. She's not that mad at us."

"It's no big deal, I like to bake."

He laughed at that.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I never knew my little Roxie liked to bake," he teased.

We stepped into the hallway.

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to shut up?" I sighed.

"A lot," he grinned. "Wanna ditch class?"

"And do what?"

"It's a surprise."

I began climbing downstairs to the first floor, fully aware of the fact that Axel's class was on the other side of the building. "But we have a test in Biology."

"So what?"

"Delinquent." I shook my head. My foot slipped on the smooth surface of the top stair, and I began to fall backwards.

Axel caught me in a split second; he had his hand on my back and his other hand was gripping my arm, steadying me. "Karma," he chuckled.

"Stupid stairs," I groaned.

"Don't blame your clumsiness on the stairs." He let go of me, and we continued walking.

"I'm going to be late because of you."

"I didn't do anything," he said with a falsely defensive tone. "Anyway, we should go get real food...or something. As long as it's not class."

"No."

"But, Roxie," he whimpered. He sure is persistent, I thought. Almost as bad as Sora.

"Why are you following me?"

"You're different. Other people get scared when I follow them."

"I wonder why."

He started to laugh right when the bell rang and I shot him a look, and lengthened my stride.

"It's not my fault," he said. The hallway was completely empty and his voice seemed to echo off the metal lockers. "I will get you to ditch one of these days."

"Sure you will."

"Are you always this sarcastic?"

"No," I said just as sarcastically.

I opened the door to the gym, dreading the teacher who would be like "why are you late, class has already started", etc.

"Bye, Roxie." Axel disappeared.

XxXxX

"One cup of butter, one and a half cups of sugar, five eggs, two cups of cream, and one teaspoon of vanilla," I said to myself, checking to make sure I had all the ingredients. "Where is the vanilla?"

I went through all the draws and cabinets again, frustrated. Kelly had rearranged things, something she seemed to do on a daily basis. I couldn't help but notice for the first time that Kelly is a health freak. No wonder why Sora goes crazy for sweets, I shook my head. Soymilk, vegan cookies, Kashi cereal, thousands of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread, and organic peanut butter crowd the kitchen, replacing the usual chips and candy. Seriously, who would eat this crap? I twisted the cap off the peanut butter in curiosity to find what looked like thick, liquidized peanuts.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair and putting the peanut butter back on the shelf. "Kelly?" I called, walking out into the hallway.

"Huh, sweetie?" She appeared, opening the bathroom door which let out waves of steam; she was wearing a pink bathrobe and her hair was wrapped up in a towel.

"Where's the vanilla?"

"It's in the refrigerator."

Idiot, I thought.

I went back to the kitchen, and sure enough, it was right next to the milk. I set it out with all the other ingredients, wondering briefly why I was doing this in the first place.

I began mixing the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a bowl. I can't believe I still remember how to make this, I thought. I would always make this for Christmas, and every year my mom would say it tasted better each time I made it. Last year, we accidently spilled cinnamon into the mixture...it tasted pretty funky...I guess that won't be happening this year...

I looked down at the metal beaters violently tearing through a slab of butter and sending goop flying, the electric mixer vibrating in my hand and making it numb.

I switched it to my other hand, trying like always to keep my mind blank.

I wonder if Axel will call or text me, I thought suddenly. Hmm...

I grabbed my phone to check. Nope, nothing.

I set it on the counter, my hand still making side-to-side motions with the mixer. I turned it off and began to add the eggs.

My phone buzzed, and I snatched it in a heartbeat. Geez, what's wrong with me, I thought as my heart pounded.

I quickly pressed the phone to my ear without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi Roxas," Naminé said.

"Oh..."

"Is something wrong? Were you expecting someone else?" she asked, her voice low.

"Um, no, no," I said quickly.

"Ok," she perked up. "Whatcha dooin'?" she sang.

"Nothing, making cheesecake," I said uncertainly. She never seemed this cheerful or bubbly.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got my art pieces accepted into this really big competition and they're going to be showcased in this museum the next town over and it will give me really good publicity," she gushed.

"That's great, Nami," I smiled.

"I know, I can't believe it to be honest! My art is going to be next to Vanessa's and Willard's sections and I really don't deserve it, they are so amazing!"

I said, "Uh-huh", like I knew what she was talking about.

"And next week I'll be able to meet them! And I'll be able to talk to other great artists! I can't wait! So, um..." She exclaimed, then suddenly paused. "The reason I called…well, uh, what have you been up to?"

"I've just been...going to school. This is kind of random, but do you remember that dream you had about the forest and the creepy guy—"

"Yes and I had another dream with him the other night actually."

"Really? Because my friend looks exactly like him."

"Er, no way," she said awkwardly.

"What was it about?"

"Never mind."

I scoffed. "Tell me!"

"Never mind!" she exclaimed. "Um..."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah...did you meet anyone cute at school?"

"This again," I groaned.

"Roxas, I'm sorry...but we both know this would never work out..."

"How do you know?"

"You can't help...who you...fall in love with," she forced herself to say.

"What? Who?" I blurted out.

"No, that's not what I meant," she said, her voice back to being quiet and soft.

"What did you mean then?"

"I…I don't know..." Her voice cracked, and she started to cry.

"Naminé! What's wrong?" I cried out.

"It's nothing...I should go..." She sniffed. "Good-bye Roxas."

"Wait, Nam—"

There was a click, and then silence. I dialed her number in rapid fire; it rang and rang. I tried again and again, and eventually someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Kairi, can I talk to Naminé?" I asked impatiently.

"She's busy," she said frigidly.

"Is she ok? I mean, she sounded perfectly fine but then she started crying and—"

"Please don't call here anymore."

"What? Kairi, let me talk to her!"

"Just let it go."

"You're one to talk! I'm sure you're still crying over Sora!" I yelled into the phone.

"Naminé doesn't need you in her life anymore," she said harshly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, aggravated.

"This is for the best. Bye Roxas."

She hung up, and I held the phone to my ear for a few moments, confused out of my mind. Why did Naminé start crying like that? She sounded so happy then-BAM!-she starts saying weird things and hangs up on me.

I shook my head and set my phone back on the counter. I expected my emotions to go haywire, but nothing happened. I felt blank, if somewhat numb and unbelieving. I could keep trying to reach her, I guess. Sooner or later, she would answer.

I sighed, and dumped the rest of the ingredients in, thinking about how weird women are. My eyes kept flitting from the bowl to my phone, hoping that Axel and I could keep playing Truth, or that maybe Naminé would call and explain things.

The batter splashed out of the bowl and splattered onto the counter, and onto my phone.

"Arg," I moaned, wiping my phone off with my sleeve. I should move it, I decided reluctantly. I put it back in my pocket, after turning the sound up.

Ok, I thought, setting the mixer to the side as I began to pour the mixture into the pie crust.

My mom loved Naminé like a daughter, I thought abruptly. Every day, she'd give me tips; things she thought would help me overcome my nerves and ask Naminé out. 'Soon Naminé Tippet will become Naminé Peyton,' she'd giggle. I remember how she reacted when I finally asked Naminé out to the movies...

Mom. Mom. I found myself gasping, tears suddenly rolling down my cheeks, the image of her beaming in my head.

Stop it, I told myself, rubbing my eyes. Don't think about that.

But mom would never want you to break up with Naminé like this, that evil voice came back. And leave everything hanging...

Think about something else, think about something else...

But I couldn't help it. My mom was a ghost constantly following me, lurking in the shadows and waiting for my guard to drop so that she could reveal herself. So that I would think about how it should have been, how it would have been. If I had stood up for her, maybe she wouldn't—

I wept harder, my insides ripping and churning and shredding. I let the tears come, but I didn't want anyone to hear me, so I let the pain roll over me, while my shoulders shook silently.

"Roxas?"

I froze when I heard Sora's meek voice. I wiped my face off with my sleeve, forced myself to stop crying, and turned my head to look at him.

He was fidgeting, obviously uncomfortable at finding me here sobbing. He had on dark blue flannel pajamas: the shirt was buttoned up to his neck, the cuffs rolled back from his hands, and his pants were way too long, bunching up over his feet. For some reason, it reminded me of a little kid finding his parents eating Santa's cookies.

"I'm fine," I said viciously, rubbing my eyes fiercely.

"But you're not."

I glared at him, but he stood his ground. "You use to barely eat...I guess that has gotten better, but you spend all your time alone. You won't let anyone get close to you, no matter how hard we try. What's wrong?"

"I don't spend all my time alone," I interjected. "I spent Halloween with Axel and...and..."

He gestured at me to go on, and when I didn't say anything, he said, "Exactly—"

"Well, that's beside the point," I said, getting more frustrated by the second. "You wouldn't understand with your perfect mother and boyfriend."

"Roxas, I know how horrible—"

"Shut up!" I screamed. "You have no idea! No...idea..." I had started weeping again, and couldn't speak, yet alone breath properly. He just had to bring that up, when he knows that's the last thing I want to talk about. Seriously, what is up with him? He acts like a kid one day, then he acts like...this.

"Everyone has a past..." he said softly. I expected him to tell me about his dad, but instead: "Do you know why Riku's here?"

I shook my head, even though I wanted to say something along the lines of "to cling to you and to annoy the hell out of everyone else."

"His parents were drunks. They would get so trashed, that they wouldn't be able to think straight, and it turned them violent and angry. Every once in a while, they'd get so drunk that they would kick Riku out. In the morning, Riku would confront them, and they'd have no idea what he was talking about. He would show up at my house sometimes...it kind of freaked my mom out, to be honest, but he begged her not to call social services. This starting happening more and more frequently, and Riku couldn't stand it anymore. Since then, he's been living with us."

I wanted to say "you shouldn't use your entire vocabulary at once" but I didn't. "Didn't his parents notice that he moved here?" I managed.

"They didn't care."

"Wouldn't social services or someone take him away?"

"Mom already got the legal stuff taken care of."

We were silent for a few moments. My nose was running, and I kept sniffing, which seemed really loud in the silence. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"...I don't know. To tell you that you're not alone...or something..."

His moment of not-complete-idiocy was obviously over, I thought. "Can you hear how stupid you sound?" Please go away. I don't need this.

"Roxas...I..." he said sadly.

"Are you coming?" Now Riku was here; I kept my back turned, staring down into the smooth, white surface of the cheesecake.

"One sec—" Sora cut off, giggling. "Get off!"

I spun around. "Will you two leave me alone?"

Riku had his arms wrapped around Sora's stomach, and he was taking steps backwards, dragging a blushing Sora with him. He shot me an evil look. Great, he still hates me, I thought.

"Didn't see you there," he said coldly.

They left, Sora giving me an apologetic look and Riku seeming indifferent.

I shoved the cheesecake in the oven and went to my room. I looked in the mirror, hating the things I saw: my face was red, and there were bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.

Instead of focusing on that, I washed my face and changed into pajamas.

I went and laid in bed, turning on the TV. I have an hour until the cheesecake will be ready, I thought, staring blankly at some weird sitcom.

By the time the cheesecake was done, I was feeling pretty sluggish. I crawled into bed, praying that I would be able to get sleep.

So the pattern continues, I thought some time later. Two nights in a row I would get barely any sleep, and on the third night I would crash. Repeat this unendingly.

I tried to think about school, about my friends, about anything that would let me relax; it didn't work. I would end up thinking about my parents, what Naminé had said, about Sora-and what he told me about Riku-and for some reason, Axel.

Axel, I thought, shifting to a more comfortable position. That was random. He is, really, the only friend I have here...Larxene hates me, Zexion is just...there, Demyx treats me like anyone else, and Xion...I don't know what to think of her, although I'm pretty sure she's afraid of me. At least Axel...

I drove my head further into my pillow. Axel's just...but I couldn't think of what he was. Lithe and graceful like a cat, somewhat annoying, a smart-aleck...I know a lot of random things about him, because of Truth, but other than that...

I sighed. I need to get some sleep, or I'll be a wreck tomorrow. I turned to my other side.

I wonder why Naminé acted like that on the phone...maybe she got a boyfriend? But she said that wasn't it. The more I thought about this particular subject, the more annoyed I got. Yes, I was confused, but now that I think about it, what's her problem? She could have at least explained what was going on; I would have understood. That would have been better than just hanging up on me. What would make her do that? Is it something that only happens to girls?...like PMS or something?

I found myself sitting up in bed, my eyes straining to see through the dark. It was pointless to try to sleep, I thought, since it obviously wasn't working. But what should I do...?

I decided to go for a walk, stumbling through my dark room, grabbing shoes and a jacket. I got outside with no incidents, because everyone was asleep, except for Riku and Sora who were laughing and clearly too preoccupied to notice the front door gently creak open.

While I was out there, my only focus was to not get lost. I carefully repeated street names, turns (right, right, left, straight, I reminded myself) as my feet crunched on the leaves that scattered the abandoned, quiet streets. I almost jumped out of my skin when my phone beeped. My stride wavering, I took it out, the glow hurtng my eyes.

1 New Message

I opened it, reading: Wht r u doin?

It was from Axel. I glanced around at the houses nearby, uncertain, and put: Sleeping

The reply was quick: No ur not

Do u live here?

Maybe

I studied the area, looking for him, but everything was dark. Where?

U should be in bed

Ur one to talk

R u lost

No

U look lost At that, my search for him resumed at a more frantic pace. Where was he?

I'm not!

Go down Maple, first right, down Cherry, third left

That's not the way I came

I bet its shorter tho

Ur creepy

I just happened to see u

Sure

Sarcastic? This late at night?

YES. I'm leaving

Wrong way

I shot the house closest to me a dirty look, and headed in the opposite direction. Thx

Ur welcome! Good night Roxie. :)

Night.

Because of that little conversation, I got home sooner than expected. What was expected, however, is that I spent at least two hours laying there, my mind hyperactive as I tryed in vain to fall asleep.

XxXxX

Axel's advice was to drink a glass of wine before bed.

"I don't drink," I said flatly. The cheesecake was wrapped in aluminum foil, and was sitting on my lap, crinkling whenever I moved.

"It's like medicine," Axel said. "It'll help you sleep."

I shook my head. We were all sitting at our lunch table. I was the tired one whose eyes kept closing of their own accord.

"Listen to music before bed," Demyx suggested.

"Ditch class and take a nap," Axel said.

I glared at him.

"What? You look like you're about to pass out."

I rubbed my eyes. "How long til the bell rings, Zexion?"

"Two minutes," he said.

"Here," I set the cheesecake in front of Larxene. "You can keep the pan."

She folded the aluminum back suspiciously. "Cheesecake?" she asked, her eyes narrow.

"Yep."

"What's it for?"

"Eating."

She frowned at me, but wrapped the cheesecake back up and set it on her lap.

"You could at least say thank you," Axel said after a few moments of silence.

She snorted. "I don't see why I should."

"He went out of his—"

I gave Axel a look to shut him up. He shrugged and soon the bell rang.

Axel was following me to class again. "What do you want?" I asked, even though I didn't mind.

"You have gym next, right?" He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah."

"I don't think you should go."

"Stop trying to get me to ditch."

"No, it's just that you don't look well," he glanced at me, a concerned look on his face.

"Again: you worry too much."

"Do you feel ok?"

"It's just lack of sleep, Axel."

"I guess," he said, unconvinced.

I got to the gym in record time, and the hour of torture began.

I stood in line with the rest of my team. Today we were playing baseball with an oversized ball made of foam. This was for "safety." My team was losing pretty badly, and because my class is mostly filled with competitive, senior guys, they were pissed. I was just trying to stay awake; I kept finding myself staring at a wall, or the floor, or the pitcher, completely zoned out.

Someone was screaming at me: the teacher. It was my turn to bat.

I stepped up and picked up the bat, holding it firmly with both hands. The ball zoomed towards me, and out of instinct more than anything else, I swung wide and the ball flew to the far corner of the gym.

I ran to the first base, but got tagged out. My team groaned, a few of them yelling in their anger.

I went to the back of the line, happy to be getting another break from the game.

"You suck at baseball."

The boy in front of me, Clyde, was sneering at me with his arms crossed over his chest. The gym seemed deathly quiet.

"Uh-huh," I muttered, suppressing a yawn. Even just standing there was almost too much to bear. I wish I could curl up in a little ball and close my eyes...

"You should learn how to run," Clyde smirked. I suddenly realized how much I disliked this kid. The sneakers he wore, his short brown hair, his thin, snake-like, pale face, his gruff voice, it all annoyed me.

"You should learn how to shut your mouth," I snapped.

Silence...then the gym erupted in laughter.

"Settle down and get back to the game!" the teacher yelled. A girl stepped up to home base, and the line inched forward.

Clyde was blushing furiously. "Retard," he snapped, "you had better stay away from her, or I will seriously mess you up. You won't even be able to walk."

I blinked. "Stay away from who?"

"Don't pretend you don't know."

"But I—"

Clyde was up to bat, and I stopped. Who was he talking about? The only girls I hang out with are Larxene and Xion, and that's only at lunch...

Clyde ignored me until the end of class. I was in the locker room, buttoning my jeans, when he shoved past me, almost making me lose my balance.

"You'd better sleep with one eye open," he threatened before leaving.

What was that about, I thought, hoisting my backpack on my shoulders and shoving my gym clothes into my locker. I wasn't really worried, guys like Clyde are all talk...

How wrong I was.